How can I help?
Editorial services for serious scholarly work
Whether you are developing an early draft, refining an argument, or preparing a final manuscript for submission, I offer editorial support across the full range of scholarly writing — from initial structure to final proofread. Every project receives careful, substantive attention grounded in genuine familiarity with the humanities and social sciences.
Developmental & Structural Editing
For manuscripts and long-form projects at any stage of development
Developmental editing addresses the architecture of your work — how the argument is constructed, how chapters or sections relate to one another, whether the scholarly contribution is clearly and compellingly framed, and whether the manuscript meets the expectations of its intended audience and venue.
More
This is the most substantive form of editorial engagement, and the most intellectually demanding. It requires an editor who can think alongside you about your ideas, not just your prose. My background in Continental philosophy, critical theory, and the theory-driven humanities means I can engage with your argument on its own terms — identifying where it is strongest, where it needs development, and how it might be more persuasively presented to anglophone readers and reviewers.
Developmental editing is appropriate at any stage: from a rough draft or detailed outline through to a complete manuscript requiring structural revision before submission.
Line & Language Editing
For scholars writing in English as a second or third language
Line editing works at the level of the sentence and paragraph — refining prose for clarity, flow, consistency, and idiomatic English while preserving the author’s voice and the integrity of their argument. It goes beyond grammar correction to address rhythm, word choice, register, and the overall texture of the writing.
More
For scholars whose primary intellectual formation has taken place in French, German, Spanish, or Italian, writing in English presents particular challenges that go beyond vocabulary and grammar. Concepts that have precise meaning in one tradition may resist direct translation into English academic discourse. Rhetorical conventions differ across linguistic cultures. An editor who understands these traditions from the inside — rather than simply correcting surface errors — can help you find an English voice that is genuinely your own rather than a flattened approximation of it.
This is the service I am most distinctively positioned to provide, and it is where my background as a translator and humanities scholar adds the most value.
Proofreading & Copyediting
For manuscripts ready for final review before submission
Copyediting addresses grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, and consistency throughout a manuscript. It also includes style guide compliance — whether your target journal or press requires Chicago, APA, MLA, or another format — and basic consistency checks across citations, terminology, and formatting.
More
Proofreading is the final pass before a manuscript goes to a journal or press: catching errors that have persisted through earlier rounds of editing, ensuring consistency, and confirming that the manuscript meets submission requirements.
Both services are available as standalone engagements or as a concluding stage following developmental or line editing work.
Academic Translation
German, French, Spanish, and Italian into English
I translate scholarly texts from German, French, Spanish, and Italian into English, with particular expertise in the theory-driven humanities and social sciences. Academic translation is one of the areas of specialization most resistant to automation, precisely because it requires not just linguistic competence but deep familiarity with the conceptual vocabulary and rhetorical conventions of specific disciplines and intellectual traditions.
With 17 years of professional translation experience and a PhD in German language and literary studies, I bring both the technical skill and the intellectual grounding that serious scholarly translation demands.
Not sure which service you need?
Many projects benefit from more than one type of editorial engagement, and the boundaries between services are not always clear-cut. I’m happy to discuss your project and suggest an approach that fits your specific needs and timeline. I also offer a complimentary sample edit of one to two pages so you can assess the quality and fit of my work before committing to a project.